Best Full-Cycle LED grow light for under $350

Posted on August 28, 2014

We Compare 9 LED Lights To Bring You 3 Inexpensive Winners

Image credit: Solid Apollo, G8LED, Lighthouse Hydro

LED grow lights can be found on Ebay or Amazon for cheap. Really cheap. But an inexpensive light usually translates to poor construction and insufficient quality. Cheap LED grow lighting may function great for a while --- maybe even a few years --- but probably will not work for much longer. The companies that make cheap LED grow lighting claim that their diodes last 50,000-100,000 hours (10-20+ years if diodes are illuminated 57% of the time). Considering that LED grow lighting hit the market around 2009, it has not been long enough to have reached this timeframe. Will the lights last? Will these companies customers be happy? Hmm...

If you want a quality LED grow light that will last you 10 years or more, you have to spend a little bit of money. Not much, but some. It's worth it in the end, because with the extra cost, you are likely receiving higher quality diodes, more PAR/PPFD, a well constructed unit, and a longer warranty.

For this LED grow light comparison, we wanted to give you your best options for a full-cycle LED grow light under $350. Why full-cycle and why under $350? Full-cycle growing will allow you to grow from seedling to flower as opposed to only vegging or flowering a plant. And by setting the limit to $350, you have a lot more options available to you.

We looked at nine LED grow lights and took into consideration the actual wattage, price, and coverage area of each lamp. We calculated the price/watt and the price/watt/square. The three least expensive price/watt/sq ft were determined to be the best LED grow lights for under $350.

Let's take a look at the LED grow lights that we will be comparing...

Blackstar 135 watt UV UFO

Nova M2

BlackStar 180 Watt UV V2.0

Solar Core Ares

G8-240

Intensity Series II- 135 watt

BlackStar Chrome 180 Watt FSF

Sol 1

BlackStar 240 watt UV V2.0

And now, the comparison...

Model

Brand

Wattage

Price

Price/Watt

Coverage Area

Price/Watt/Sqft

Warranty

BlackStar 135 watt UV UFO

Lighthouse Hydro

78W

189.99

$2.43

4 sq ft

$0.60

1 Y

Nova M2- 85 watt

Evergrow

85W

249.99

$2.94

2 sq ft

$1.47

3 Y

BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0

Lighthouse Hydro

111W

259.99

$2.34

6 sq ft

$0.39

3 Y

Solar Core Ares- 140 watt

Solid Apollo

130W

274.99

$2.11

8 sq ft

$0.26

5 Y

G8-240

G8LED

140W

309.99

$2.21

8 sq ft

$0.27

2 Y

Intensity Series II- 135 watt

Intelligent-Gro

90W

324.99

$3.61

4 sq ft

$0.90

3 Y

BlackStar Chrome 180 Watt FSF

Lighthouse Hydro

111W

319.99

$2.88

6.25 sq ft

$0.46

1 Y

Sol 1- 100 watt

Hydro Grow

97W

349.99

$3.60

9 sq ft

$0.40

2 Y

BlackStar 240 watt UV V2.0

Lighthouse Hydro

127W

349.99

$2.75

6 sq ft

$0.45

3 Y

*This chart does not take into account PAR/PPFD, which can be affected by light distance and lens shape/angle. Additional tests that measure PAR/PPFD should be completed and considered to backup this comparison.

Solar Cores Ares

Advantages: Solid Apollo offers a 5 year warranty and a 4 month money-back guarantee on their lights.

Disadvantages: The Solar Core Ares is a newer LED unit and has not been used by as many growers as the G8-240 or BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0.

G8-240

Advantages: The G8-240 is 10 watts and 29 watt more powerful than the Solar Core Ares and the BlackStar unit, respectively.

Disadvantages: The unit costs $35 more and $50 more than the Ares and BlackStar unit, respectively, and only has a 2 year warranty. However, this is worth the investment in my opinion. G8LED has nothing but excellent reviews on their LED grow lights.

In addition: You can fit about 5 marijuana plants under each of these lights assuming 1.5 sq ft per plant.

Both of these lights cover an area of 8 sq ft. Yet, if you take into account that each square foot of grow space should be receiving 25 watts of growing power (see section: 2. What is the size of your grow space?), these lights fall short of meeting that requirement. To solve this problem, you can move the lights closer to your plants. In reality, it is the PAR that reaches the plants that matters and not the actual wattage of the unit. There is a correlation between PAR and wattage, but we are not going to cover this topic here.

BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0

Advantages: At $259.99, this unit is cheaper than both the Ares and the G8-240 and comes with a 3 year warranty. This light has been used many times by growers. In addition, Lighthouse Hydro has a great reputation.

Disadvantages: The BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0 is only 111 watts and covers 6 sq ft. This light should also be moved closer to the plants to attain the proper wattage/sq ft of growing space.

With a 6 ft coverage area you can setup 4 marijuana plants in the space under the light.

Conclusion: So what is the best full-cycle LED grow light under $350?

I would go with either the Solar Core Ares or the G8-240. The lights are powerful for the price and allow you to grow more plants underneath them than the BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0. Yet, the BlackStar 180 watt UV V2.0 would also be an excellent choice for your money.

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LEDs Grow Lights Depot was amazingly helpful with speedy, professional email replies to my many questions. I had an exceedingly wonderful experience doing business with them. They truly treated me like a best friend. The website is easy to navigate and they have wonderful promotions and great prices! The bar LEDs I purchased of similar wattages put out more light and less heat than t5 high output lamps which is wonderful for my orchids. I was always battling heat and low humidity. When I need more lights, I will definitely purchase them from this company again, and I will recommend them to anyone interested in LED lighting!" - Anna

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Very happy with the product to date. Is an excellent little unit thats delivering great growth and cool living environment.
Big thank you to Erik and the team at [LED Grow Lights Depot] for their fast helpful service. - Ricky

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The fixture arrived even faster than expected and in perfect condition. I was very pleased with the customer service and performance of LED Grow Lights Depot and will use them again for future orders. - Emily

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Major results in just 1 week, it's like the foliage doubles every 24 hours. We ended up buying another one! -Terri

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Excellent product and service, sweet light, plants love it. - Eric

Kind LEDs are great!

The Kind LEDs are great! I've been growing with LEDs for many years and after purchasing my first two xl1000's I must say I'm very pleased. They are by far the most efficient lights I've used(and I've tried many). I eagerly await the light bars I feel they would be wonderful lights to use supplementary. Can't wait to try all the new toys Kind will be blessing us with in the years to come. Simply put, they produce great products. -Ted

Great customer service!

Your customer service has been great, I would buy from you again without hesitation. -Dan

I will be back!

I had originally ordered the dwarf star, but it turned out they had ran out of stock before filling my order, so instead of making me wait, they upgraded my light for the inconvenience!! This is an amazing company and the ps500 exceeded my expectations. Erik was awesome and very helpful. Will definitely be back! -Carson